France Will No Longer Force Transgender People To Undergo Sterilization

The French government announced transgender citizens going through transition would no longer need to undergo a surgical sterilization process, as reported by The Independent. Transgender Europe said the previous sterilization law was in place to make sure transgender people were “serious about transitioning.”

France is one of the few European countries that has changed their tune regarding processes for transitioning. People of Denmark, Malta and Ireland have only had to inform authorities about their intention to transition, without any medical or state interference. But Britain, Spain, and Germany still require a psychiatric diagnosis before people are allowed to legally change their gender. And The Independent reported nearly two dozen European countries still enforce sterilization processes. The newly passed legislation is a being seen by LGBTQ groups as a major step forward. ILGA-Europe Spokesperson Sophie Aujean told The Independent the new law puts to rest years of arguing between the group and lawmakers:

“There is no other population in the world that is asked to be sterilized apart from transgender. These are years of sparring that finally come to fruition.”

But some still believe this latest legislation isn’t as revolutionary as it could be. Stéphanie Nicot, president of la Fédération LGBT, said those transitioning should not have to jump through so many hoops during their process:

“This law will resolve nothing while we still refuse to medicate and legislate transitions. We demand that this [issue] no longer goes through the courts; we are not criminals and judges have more important things to deal with.”

A 2014 EU Report found that transgender people are twice as likely to be attacked as gay people. And because the French census does not tally transgender people, it’s hard to estimate how many transgender people reside in the country.